***I'll be traveling for two days, so I'll see you all when I get back.***
Light from the television flickered across the living room wall—a steady scatter of headlines, talking heads, and cityscapes scarred by fires. Ethan's parents and he were folding laundry and packing boxes in the next room—preparing for the move.
"You'll need that shirt for tomorrow," his mother said gently, holding up a pale blue polo. She paused. "Ethan, did you… are you sure you're okay?" She moved closer, looked past the TV to his eyes.
Ethan nodded, though he didn't look at her. "I'm really fine, Mom. I promise. A-okay."
His father emerged from behind a stack of moving boxes, grin crooked, sports magazine in hand. "Did you see this?" he said, tapping a page. "Knicks' coach finally made a change—about time. Maybe some turnaround coming." He set the magazine down. "Also…" He pointed to the TV. "Norman Osborn—Green Goblin—dead. News just broke."
On the screen, anchors discussed how Osborn's body was recovered this morning after last night's rooftop collapse at Oscorp Tower. They showed blurred images of rubble, police tape, and a figure spiraling downward.
"Looks like the city might finally breathe a sigh of relief," his father said, voice unexpectedly soft. "He got what he deserved—for all the people he's killed, hurt… the damage he brought."
His mother's expression tightened. She dropped the shirt back onto the pile. "Dear, you shouldn't say that… even though he was a bad man, he still has a family. I'm sure the news hit them hard."
Ethan felt pinched between two forces: the warm concern of his mother, the blunt justice of his father. He cleared his throat. "I'm just… glad none of us were hurt. You two are okay." He looked away. "That's what matters."
His father nodded, closed his hands together. "Yeah. Family first. The Kanes will survive anything that comes at us."
His mother touched his arm, softly. "We're gonna be just fine."
Ethan swallowed. The words and affection felt true and heavy. He retreated to his room. Inside, he slips on his headphones, opens a folder titled "NYC Underworld."
He begins typing, assembling profiles: names, territories, modus operandi, power-vacuum. His screen divides into columns:
KINGPIN (Wilson Fisk)
Status: Weakened but scheming. Fisk's era of dominance has been disrupted—his public legitimacy tarnished, his criminal empire fractured. Yet in every meeting, he's still the name that demands respect. He's laying low, rebuilding via lobbyists, false‑front businesses, legal veneer. The boardrooms may forget he's the Don, but the streets remember.
Territory: Midtown real estate, construction, and union rackets.
Weakness: Relies on facades; the Osborn collapse opens cracks.
Opportunity: A man with deep pockets, influence, and ambition. Looking to fill the void.
MISTER NEGATIVE (Martin Li)
Status: Rising kingpin. He built up the Inner Demons gang, controls Chinatown, and hovers between philanthropy and crime. His access to the Darkforce and Lightforce gives him powers that make him unpredictable. (Subject for study)
Territory: East‑side trafficking, human capital smuggling, occult experiments.
Weakness: Dual persona, public charity cover, hates scrutiny.
Opportunity: The perfect wildcard.
HAMMERHEAD (Hammerhead)
Status: Reforged enforcer turned would‑be don. Once an old‑school mobster, brain‑injured, reinvented with adamantium enhancements by Mr. Negative's doctors.
Territory: Smuggling rings, underground muscle, retributive gangs.
Weakness: Brute strength, little subtlety; allegiance unstable.
Opportunity: Distracted, angry, could be a useful spark to ignite turf warfare.
THE HOOD (The Hood / Parker Robbins: Holder of Nisanti's cloak)
Status: King of the super‑villains. Organized dozens of B‑ and C‑tier villains (Wrecking Crew, Chemistro, etc.). Built a syndicate with benefits and street infrastructure.
Territory: Costumed‑villain coalition, dark magic, territory assignments.
Weakness: Magic source unstable, skeletal supply chain.
Opportunity: His network should begin fractured soon—ripe for takeover or exploitation.
MADAME MASQUE (Madame Masque / Whitney Frost / Giulietta Nefaria)
Status: The brains. Daughter of Count Nefaria, former Maggia member, consigliere of The Hood—cold, calculating.
Territory: Underworld finance, corporate crime fronts, mask interplay.
Weakness: Personal trauma; identity wound; risk of betrayal.
Opportunity: A power node to anchor a new criminal empire—if controlled properly.
TOMBSTONE (Tombstone / Lonnie Lincoln)
Status: Freelance muscle. Albino, bullet‑proof skin, sells services to the highest bidder.
Territory: Contract killing, smuggling corridors, underground arbitration.
Weakness: No foundational network, reputation > structure.
Opportunity: Useful tool, not threat—can be seeded into Delilah's empire.
THE MAGGIA (Maggia Families)
Status: Fragmented. Once dominant, now bleeding territory—members defecting to Hammerhead or The Hood.
Territory: White‑collar corruption, bank‑fronts, loan‑sharking.
Weakness: Reputation of decline; old‑school methods in a new world.
Opportunity: Could be absorbed or replaced; a legacy brand to repurpose.
THE HAND (The Hand)
Status: Silent empire. Infiltrating lower‑tier gangs and corporations. Operating in shadows, building for something larger.
Territory: Hell's Kitchen, Japanese backup, cult‑crime crossover.
Weakness: Public invisibility, operational latency.
Opportunity: Ideal for destabilization, a hidden lever for power moves.
Ethan leans back in his chair. The dossier fills the screen. Circles link crime lords to territories; heat‑maps show opportunity zones; financial graphs tick upward for fronts hidden in plain sight. He feels a familiar surge—control.
The death of Norman Osborn is the fulcrum. The public sees an empire obliterated. The criminals see empty real estate, deregulated turf, weakened oversight. The city has shifted.
Ethan types the hypothesis into his file: "Post‑Osborn power‑vacuum. City ripe for new structure. Face needed. Control network hidden. I provide."
He opens a new document: "Delilah Artino – Project Queen / Phase One."
He overlays her profile—ex‑enforcer, trained killer, hidden ambition. She can be the face.
But who manages the infrastructure? He doesn't have the time to watch over her so he needed an intelligent babysitter. He glances back at the dossier. Madame Masque. The chessboard is set.
The keys to power: supply chains (Masque), possible hired muscle (Tombstone, Paladin, and Shocker), destabilization tool (Mr. Negative, Black Tarantula, and Hammerhead), platform (Delilah).
He closes the window. The sun has dipped below the skyline through his window. The city outside is still quiet, but momentum is building.
One last check:
Kingpin: Regaining.
Mister Negative: Rising.
Hammerhead: Smoldering.
The Hood: Disrupted.
Madame Masque: Untapped.
Tombstone: Commodity.
Maggia: Legacy.
The Hand: Infiltration.
He leans forward, fingers poised over the keyboard.
"This is the moment," he murmurs. "This is the architecture of a new underworld."